Uconn

Connecticut's Shabazz Napier (13) and Ryan Boatright (11) smile during a break in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Maryland on Friday, Nov. 8, 2013, in New York. UConn defeated Maryland 78-77. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

All intense rivalries tend to distort the memories of those involved. The pure hatred each team has for the other renders reality vague.

It used to be like that for UConn and Boston College on the basketball court.

"I remember one game we were down like 29 or 30 points and came back to win," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "I might be exaggerating that. I get that from coach (Jim) Calhoun."

It was actually an 18-point, second-half deficit the Huskies overcame in posting a 94-91 double-overtime victory at BC on Feb. 9, 1994 when Ollie was playing for Calhoun. Just a week before the game, Calhoun was hospitalized with pneumonia.

Calhoun's famous tendency to not remember things well obviously was inherited by Ollie, but the intensity of the rivalry no doubt moved Ollie to recall it a bit differently.

More than eight years after they last played, the Huskies and Eagles will renew acquaintances Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in the 2K Sports Classic.

Calhoun vowed to never play the Eagles again during his tenure not because BC left for the ACC but because of what Calhoun believed was the duplicitous manner in which BC and former athletic director Gene DeFilippo acted in doing so.

The final game between the two was played Jan. 5, 2005 at the Hartford Civic Center with BC taking a 75-70 victory. Just about every year from 1950-2005, the teams played and then it all just stopped.

With the principles in that drama now retired, and conference realignment stagnant for now, UConn and BC finally get together again with hopes on both sides that it will be a common reunion.

"Visiting alums and going around talking, it's obviously been something that really excites our fan base," BC coach Steve Donahue said. "There's no doubt about that. ... I think like any rivalry you're going to get some real passionate feelings about it. I think both sides would say we want to play each other. It makes a lot of sense."

Indeed. Until the Eagles left the Big East, UConn had a New England rival for years. Since then, the Huskies have had no regional rival, the second-best culprit being Syracuse. Now that Syracuse has moved on to the ACC and UConn to the American Athletic Conference, the Huskies are without a rival.

Some might argue that BC wasn't so much a rival as simply the school UConn fans loved to hate more than any other. Many believe that a rivalry means highly competitive games and an even series record. In that regard, UConn dominated the Eagles. The overall series record is 54-35 in UConn's favor. The Huskies were an astounding 36-14 against the Eagles in Big East play, including a 23-game winning streak that ran from 1988-2000.

Still, BC-UConn used to mean something to fans in the region. Getting back into a regular series can't be a bad thing.

"I would love to play the game," Donahue said. "I talked to Kevin about it. I just know they're a good program and we're both from up in this area. I just think it makes sense that we play each other."

Calhoun thought that was the case, too, and not so recently, either. Two years after saying he would never play the Eagles again, Calhoun said he wouldn't object to renewing the series. The biggest stumbling block there was DeFilippo, who admitted that BC helped keep UConn out of the ACC because it was "a matter of turf."

Only recently have relations between the two schools started to thaw. Maybe Thursday night will prove to those who make decisions that the Eagles and Huskies should play as often as possible.

"They're right in our region," Ollie said. "We had a lot of wars in the Big East and I was right in the middle of them. I'd love to rekindle that rivalry again."

Follow Us

Post a reader comment

We encourage your feedback and dialog. Please be civil and respectful.If you're witty, to the point and quotable, your reader comments may also be included on the Around the Towns page of The Sunday Republican. Readers must be registered and logged in to post comments on the site. Registration is free. Click Here to register.
A Subscription is not required to post comments only a Registration.